1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to neckties and more particularly to an assemblable necktie which is adapted to be easily and quickly fitted for the particular wearer.
2. Description of the Related Art
The most conventional and popular types of neckwear for children and adults of both sexes are the necktie and scarf. The present fashion industry allows for practically unlimited variations in the shapes, styles, lengths, widths, patterns, colors and materials used in the manufacturing of clothing. However, with respect to scarves and neckties, this industry has been somewhat limited due to the difficulties and problems in tying knots so that the knot is well formed and the end sections of the tie are the correct lengths and are in proper proportion to the user's body, neck and clothes.
Most attempts in the prior art for solving the problem of correctly tying a knot has involved simply using pre-formed or pretied neckties. Of these pre-formed necktie varieties, the most common involves the use of a "winged" support structure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,815 issued to P. R. Graham, entitled "PRE-TIED NECKTIE", discloses a necktie having a cloth or fabric part which does not extend around the neck but is attached, in knotted form, to the medial part of a frame member of thin flat material. The frame member has two oppositely extending wings arranged to be inserted within the neck band and collar of the shirt. U.S. Pat. No. 3,112,492, issued to J. W. Less, entitled "PRE-TIED NECKTIES", discloses another "wing" type of support structure which imparts to the tie the appearance of having been hand tied.
Other pre-tied neckties involve the use of zippers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,453, issued to J. Chen, et al., entitled "PRE-TIED NECKTIE", discloses a necktie having an inner tie with one end formed as a flexible opening and zipper fastener disposed therein, an outer tie containing a wide end of a conventional necktie, and a knot support with a hole near the lower end of the front wall. The upper end of the outer tie and the slider plate of the zipper fastener are affixed in the hole of the knot support.
U.S. Pat No. 3,898,698, issued to D. J. Byrd, et al., entitled "NECKTIE", discloses another pre-formed necktie assembly which utilizes a somewhat complicated zipper assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,807, issued to C. Espino, entitled "NECKTIE HAVING A PREFORMED KNOT", discloses the use of a clutch carried by a clip and a pin carried by the tie which cooperate to assemble the finished assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,237, issued to R. E. Bellon, entitled "PRE-KNOTTED NECKTIE", discloses a tie in which a slip knot is formed at the desired position of the knot in an exposed portion of the tie. The knot is formed by a tubular insert thereby providing a tubular opening in the slip knot which can receive the thinner hidden end of the tie. The tie is worn by the user by sliding the hidden end of the tie under the collar, inserting it through the tubular opening in the slip knot and pulling it tighter about the neck of the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,761,964, issued to J. M. Piper, entitled "NECKTIE AND TIE KNOT FORM THEREFOR", discloses a necktie having a simulated knot including a contoured form for providing the knot wherein the simulated knot is formed directly in the necktie itself in cooperation with the contoured form, the necktie being fastened by the form along the contours of the outer surface thereof so as directly form the assimilated knot from the necktie.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,004, issued to F. Brandenburger, entitled "NECKTIE AND REMOVABLE KNOT", discloses a combination utilizing a removable knot that permits a conventional necktie to be placed around the collar, the portable knot being slipped over the ends and adjusted against the collar, thereby eliminating the tying and untying operation. This combination permits use of a basically conventional tie and a novel knot.
Several attempts have been made to permit quick release of the collar portions of neckties. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,665, issued to S. Akamatsu, entitled "QUICK-RELEASE NECKTIE", discloses the use of neck bands extending from both sides of the knot and a pair of quick-releasable male and female fastenings attached to the ends of the neck bands. The male fastening is formed of a tongue-like plugged portion having wedge form, captively engaging projections on both faces. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,513, issued to G. P. Beaudin, Jr., et al., entitled "PULL AWAY SAFETY NECKWEAR", discloses a connecting member on a neck band being comprised of a male section and a female section joined together in a releasably engagable manner whereby the sections are completely separable from a pull upon portion of the neck band.
There have also been attempts to improve upon the ability of the wearer to have some control over the ultimate length of the necktie that he is using. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,860,346, issued to R. A. Siebler et. al., entitled "VARIABLE LENGTH AND STYLE NECKTIE" discloses a variable length tie in which fasteners are used to change the fold line at the bottom of the tie.
Tie clasps, tie tacks and tie anchors of many kinds have been proposed by prior art workers for holding the dependant portion of the tie adjacent the wearer's shirt front. However, such prior art devices have been so constructed that the tie is either so securely attached to the shirt front that there is no significant freedom of relative vertical movement between the tie and the shirt front of the necktie or the tie is too loosely retained. There has been a continuing need for improvement in such devices, both to attain the desired freedom of relative vertical movement while providing adequate constraint of the tie, and to devise a product of this tie which can be produced at less expense than has heretofore been involved. An attempt to improve on tie anchors is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,800, issued to J. W. Less, entitled "ARTICLES OF NECKWEAR", which discloses a tie anchor with specially designed arms for attaching to the shirt of a wearer.
Presently, therefore, there is no efficient way to reform or open the knot of a necktie or re-adjust the end sections of the tie to adjust them to the desired length without retying the necktie over again. Nor is there a way to efficiently interchange the knot or tie section for color coordination. Furthermore, there are no efficient quick and easy on and off means or methods for adjusting the collar length of a tie that can be adjusted for different neck sizes and which will also quickly and safely attach and detach and break away from itself if a strong pull is given to the necktie. Additionally, there exists no readily efficient method for holding a tie adjacent to the wearer's shirt or blouse.
As will be disclosed below, the present new invention offers easy and convenient solutions to the above problems by the following designs, features and methods.